sunday in the city

i mentioned before that i got back into taking ballet classes last september after a several year hiatus.  i have absolutely loved taking lessons again, but this past year really did a number on my old pointe shoes.  i dug in my heels and refused to buy myself a new pair of pointe shoes all last year because i didn't want to admit that mine were dead, but after dancing so hard on them for the recital this past june they officially kicked the bucket.  they are so old and really owe me nothing.  a few weeks ago i finally convinced myself it was time for a new pair.

on sunday, we took a quick trip to nyc.  as soon as we arrived in the city we headed straight down to chelsea.  my absolute favorite brand of pointe shoes are gaynor mindens and the gaynor minden boutique is located in a historic brownstone in chelsea.  i called the boutique a few weeks ago to schedule an appointment for a fitting because i knew that i would need to change the sizing/fit of my shoes.  having a private fitting at gaynor minden in nyc was a dream come true!  once we got there we made our way through the wrought iron doors, rang the buzzer, and entered the showroom in the residential apartment building.  it was so discreet and felt like we were entering a secret club or something.  we had the boutique all to ourselves and it was so nice.  i got to take my time making sure i found the shoes that were just right for me.  (they have over 3,000 different combinations with all of the different options for length, width, box, shank, vamp, and heel!)  i left there with a new pair of pointe shoes (and a pretty awesome bag too).  i couldn't resist posing in an arabesque with my new bag on the way out!

^since we were in chelsea, we ran though chelsea market to pick up some oil and vinegar from the filling station because we were all out at home.  i always love seeing the lights at chelsea market.^

^we worked up quite an appetite, so we headed to grab something to eat as soon as we left chelsea.  we walked down to the west village and had a lovely and leisurely sunday brunch at hummus place.  i ordered the spinach shakshuka and ryan had the falafel sandwich.  it turned out to be so much food, we couldn't believe it!  they certainly are generous with their portions, and boy was it all filling!^

^everyone has been raving about sockerbit lately, so we popped in to see what all of the fuss was about while we were in the west village.  the shop is filled with all different types of scandinavian sweets and you can create your own candy bag from the assortment of little sweets.  we picked out a few unusual things to try (like caramel marshmallow mushrooms).  we're not big candy eaters, but it's a neat novelty.^

^dough made it's way from brooklyn to manhattan and we are thrilled.  on our way back to midtown we stopped in dough in the flatiron district and picked up two doughnuts to bring home with us: pumpkin and lemon meringue!^

^we hopped on the subway and zipped up to midtown and made a quick pit stop in the shops at columbus circle to see the christmas stars hanging in the lobby.  i just love seeing them every year.^

before leaving the city, we headed up to the upper west side to grab a few things from trader joes.  oh my goodness, trader joe's on the u.w.s. on a sunday evening is no joke!  the line was out the building and wrapped around the corner!  luckily it moved really fast.  (hey, trader joe's, please open a store closer to our house!)

we wanted to grab something light, healthy, and quick for dinner which we could eat on the way home.  i had heard that sweet green was supposed to open a location on the u.w.s. in november but i didn't know when, so we took our chances and stopped by to see if they were open yet.  it turned out that they didn't actually open for two more days, but they were having a test run soft opening for the employees that night so they could learn the menu and such.  so, all salad dinners were free!!!  what?!  we each got a salad and a drink for free.  it was awesome.  thank you nyc, and welcome to the u.w.s. sweet green!

since we were up there, i peeked around the corner on 74th to see if i could pop into levain to grab a cookie for the way home but their line was out the door and down the sidewalk too.  (seriously, what was going on sunday night?!)  we didn't have enough time to wait, so we substituted with a double chocolate peppermint cookie from pret-a-manger instead.  it was good, but it wasn't levain.  (i guess it will just give me something to look forward to the next time we're in the city!)

overall, it was a super quick trip, but we had a great time.  when we got home i realized that i hardly took any pictures which is so unusual for me.  oh well, the weather was great and we had a great sunday in the city!

love, laurie